My Father's Daughter

161. pointing to you ~ even in difficult public conversations, hard questions that drive me to Your word 162. humbling experiences and gracious responses 163. full table, many conversations, one family 164. cousins being silly together 165. forgiving hugs of a 6 year old 166. reminding me to also forgive me 167. a network of mamas for support and conversation 168. church feeding us dinner! 169. beautiful sunny days welcoming home robins and picnic lunches 170. math problems and spelling words done in sidewalk chalk 171. bike rides with my 2 favorite boys 172. warm (almost) spring days that turn into warm summer nights 173. glittery cards full of happy wishes of forever together 174. Irish scones and laughing ~ building friendships 175. staying out too late 176. sunny mornings with spring just 2 days away 177. making too many pancakes and waffles (because the distracted mama measured wrong) 178. pancakes and waffles for breakfast AND lunch 179. bold markers on paper as boys take time co

I keep trying to write and nothing comes. I'm trying to count gifts and I keep getting stuck. I'm realizing I can't write until I write about this. Last Friday, 7000 miles away, thousands of lives were lost and millions of lives will never be the same. All in moments. The world shook. A little over a week ago a country made up of almost 4000 islands was shaken to it's core. The shaking brought upset and ruin not because it caused buildings to crumble (they were all so well prepared for that) but it was the after effects of the trembling. The earth heaved and groaned and hurled water 30 feet high. They prepared for the trembling but who can prepare for what that trembling brought? Water, it's an amazing force. It's life giving and life taking. We all start our lives in a fluid that is 98% water. Those little specific ratios of atoms of hydrogen and oxygen make up 70% of our earth and 60% of the human body. And last week it rose up into 30 feet walls and took home

Counting. Trusting. Believing. Nails driving out nails. Habit replacing habit. 145. the littlest asking to help me with chores 146. snuggly sick days 147. friends who ask "how can I help?" 148. gray skies giving a contrast for blue 149. brothers in matching pajamas 150. a husband working out in the rain 151. for Philippians chapter 4 152. for raining inside days to cuddle, learn and play 153. Nate 'playing' the piano 154. dishwashers & washing machines ~ reminding me of the relative ease of my life 155. church on Lenten Wednesdays for all ages, feeding us, helping us to slow and focus 156. for being my Rock, even as the world shakes 157. hope for eternity 158. knowing that when everything fell we'd be held 159. familiar arms holding me 160. rain on the sunroof

Naming gifts. Fighting dissatisfaction. Refusing to worry. Giving thanks. 113. antihistamines helping me get through the night 114. 3 way nerf gun battles 115. a brother in law with blessed fixing hands 116. cold cucumber slices 117. seeing fruits of hard work and smiling sisters, proud 118. really good sleep 119. another day 120. my just about 6 year old eagerly doing extra math 121. yet another day, time to try again 122. filly party favor bags with excited boys 123. powdered sugar all over 124. friends over for pancakes and waffles 125. smiling kids excited for party fun 126. getting over meltdowns (both mine and the littlest's) with hugs and smiles 127. CHOCOLATE CAKE! 128. Lego madness 129. determination of 6 (in one more day) year old in assembling 568 pieces 130. sitting in a quiet house after being busy all day 131. Nathan...and six years of holding, hugs, kisses and big smiles 132. family: sisters, brothers, cousins, talking and laughing 133. my eight year old wearing big